Just cut it out

Hey guys. Happy Friday! We’ve almost made it to December!

What a year so far. I can’t believe Chairman Mom only launched in April. This time last year we had just a newsletter and Paul and I were the only two full-time employees at the company. I have fallen in love with so many hilarious and brilliant and compassionate women I’ve met through Chairman Mom. It feels like we’ve been part of this thing together for way longer than six or seven months.

There is also a lot that has happened to me personally this year. It’s been rough in a few ways, not the least of which was changes in custody. On the other hand, I am ever so so so slowly making progress on getting back in shape. In January, I couldn’t run for more than a minute straight. Now running for an hour is no big thing.

We’ve got four more weeks until we close this year out, and that means about two more weeks of hardcore work before everyone leaves for the holidays and my kids get out of school and my maximum productivity goes out the window. This weekend Paul and I are getting away without the kids, and I am planning to use the time to make a master, maximum, amazing list of all the things I need to get done in those two weeks—personal and professional. I am gonna come back Monday morning and tear the F through work. And I’m also going to take a look at last year’s New Year’s Resolutions a bit early. What did I not do that I still have a few more weeks to cross off my list? I can’t even remember. But it’s in the journal I just packed in my weekend bag.

I’ll tell you what I’m not going to do: Organize that kindergarten parent mixer that I planned to put together. As some of you know, I’ve been using the Noom App to lose weight (more here!) and this week (week 5) it forced me to cut out a commitment to make room for more important commitments. I struggled to come up with something. “I am already so good at triaging my life, everything here is important!” I said.

So I put in a placeholder BS answer because I couldn’t come up with one. And then about six hours later when I sat down to look at a calendar I was like, “You know what? There is no working parent on Earth who has time for another happy hour, me included.” That sh*t’s gonna happen in January. And I don’t think I let a single person down.

Cut something out today. Do it. This is the time of year when we “yes, and” everything. Be the “yes, instead” person today. You’ve earned it the last 11 months of this year.